


Filled With Poison, Blessed With Beauty And Rage.

by Passionteaforapansexualweeb



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Batbrothers (DCU) Bonding, Bullying, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, High School, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, M/M, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:28:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25738057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Passionteaforapansexualweeb/pseuds/Passionteaforapansexualweeb
Summary: Lila Rossi had taken her toll on Marinette. One suicidal letter after another. To a point where the blue beauty couldn't take it. After a failed attempt at death, Tom and Sabine decide to send her to her aunt in Gotham - enrolling her in Gotham High, where she meets Damian Wayne. One look into his emerald eyes, and she's head over heels for him...But he's currently dating someone.(Title inspired by Lana Del Rey's 'Ultraviolence')((This story has some suicidal thoughts/suicide related things, alongside the normal self-harm and blood. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED))
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine, Alix Kubdel/Lê Chiến Kim, Chloé Bourgeois/Kagami Tsurugi, Damian Wayne/Original Female Character(s), Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Bruce Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug's Parents, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Comments: 59
Kudos: 208





	1. Crumpled Balls Of Paper

**Author's Note:**

> (Trigger Warnings: Suicidal thoughts, suicidal letters (telling someone to kill themselves), suicide attempt, and self-harm. If you are considering suicide or are faint of heart, this chapter isn't for you. Also, if you are considering suicide, PLEASE, talk to me or anyone else. You ARE worth it. Don't do it.) 
> 
> (Anyways, enjoy!~~)

Marinette opened to her locker to find her usual letter from Lila and Alya. She sighed heavily, attracting the attention of Chloe, who was applying a layer of lip gloss. 

"Don't tell me..." she snatched the letter from Marinette. 

_'For a very 'special' Marinette Dupain-Cheng.'_

"Really?! This is the sixth one this week!" she ripped it into pieces, letting them fall to the floor. 

"Chlo', it's fine! I swear! I don't read them!" Marinette said, calming down her pissed friend. Chloe did a matched sigh, closing her lip gloss. 

"It's not fine, Nettie! They're literally sending you _death threats_ and _threatening_ letters to you! Okay?! Even if you don't read them, you still shouldn't just ignore them! Tell Ms. Bustier! Or your parents! Hell, I'll tell my maman and dad, too!" 

"NO! I-it's okay! Chloe, it told you it's fine! It's all okay! Alright?! I don't want to stress you out!" she semi-shouted, hands on Chloe's shoulders. Marinette exhaled. "Look. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I can handle things on my own alright? We're seniors in high school now, Chlo. Shouldn't you be thinking of you and 'Gami's future wedding?" 

Chloe turned a bright shade of red, hiding her face behind her wavy blond locks.   
  
"I-i don't know what you're talking about!" she blushed. "Anyways," Chloe cleared her throat. "We should probably head to lunch. Nino and Adrien have some new music ideas for 'Kitty Section's' comeback." 

**(Confession: I love Adrien. I love him so much. I'm 100% okay with making him a bitch, but in this fic, he isn't. Also, he's paired with Luka (Lukadrien) so NO MCFUCKING Adriene *gag* no Adriene *gag*)**

"Shit! That's right! You can go without me, I have to grab my song notes from the classroom!" 

"I can go with-" Chloe started. 

"Goooooo! Your girlfriend is waiting, now gooooo!" Marinette gently pushed Chloe in the direction of the lunch room, taking off in the opposite direction, heading towards Ms. Bustier's classroom. The room was fairly dark; the open curtains let in faint sunlight, reflecting onto lone desks. She walked over to her desk, pulling out her binder. Surprisingly, her folder wasn't there.

 _'I didn't leave it at home did I?'_

"Well, well, well. Look who it is, girl. Poor baby Marinette. What are you doing in here without your posse?" Alya came out of the shadows, holding the ladybug patterned folder. Marinette faced her ex-best friend, face in a frown. 

"I just came here for my music notes. I don't want any problems, Alya," she kept a firm pose, stiff. On the inside however, she was trembling. 

"Aww, are you trying to be all tough?" From beside Alya, Sausage Queen Lila Rossi approached her, grabbing the collar of Marinette's blouse. Marinette gripped Lila's wrist, trying to pry her off. 

"I'm not. I just want my folder back." 

"This?" Alya pulled out a lighter, holding the flame under one of the corners. 

_'A lighter?! Where the hell- why the hell- she shouldn't have that-'_

"YES. Please don't just-" 

"Why should we listen to a worthless bitch like you?" Lila's amber eyes peered deeper into Marinette's bluebell ones. "You're lucky you're still alive. You really should just kill yourself already. Literally NO ONE likes you. Not even Chloe. She's only your friend because you helped her that _one_ time. The world doesn't need anymore garbage." 

"Hm. Then why didn't they get rid of you yet?" she sneered. Lila's snarky face fell, turning into a face of fury. Lila slammed Marinette to the ground. The bluenette was repeatedly beaten into the floor, kicked and punched.   
  
"That ought to teach you a lesson, you useless cum sucker. Like I said, you should go end yourself before I do it _myself._ " 

"Let's go, girl. I gotta take a smoke," Alya dropped Marinette's folder. Marinette remained on the ground, trying her best not to cry. She was a close five months to graduating, right now wasn't the time to get all upset over some bullying that constantly continued for the past four years. 

_"Maybe they're... no. No. NO. I-"_ tears began to pour out of her eyes. She slowly clambered up. Blood dripped onto her salmon pink blouse. Marinette leant against her desk, cupping a hand under her bloody nose. She grabbed her bag, pulling it down. As she dug around, her blouse sleeve rode up, revealing some of the old and new scars she'd given herself. 

Chloe, surprisingly, as well as everyone else, not even _Tikki_ , didn't find out about those yet, much to her relief. 

Marinette stared down at them, blurry. She removed her hand from the inside of her bag, instead hugging her knees, placing her arm right over her eyes. Blood dripped onto her black capris; however, she didn't care. 

Lila and Alya's words swirled around in her head.

_You should be dead by now._

_Why are you still here? Nobody here even likes you._

_Just give up already._

_Who would love someone like you? They deserve someone like me, hot and rich. Not poor and ugly._

"Marinette?" a familiar voice sounded from next to her. 

Adrien, in his midriff Jagged Stone crop top, (Now that his dad was in jail, he now had control on what he wore) knee-length grey shorts, and green converse, shoulder-length hair in a loose ponytail. He held up a cat patterned handkerchief, handing it to Marinette. 

"Bitch and bitch, huh?" he fiddled with his choker. (from Luka) 

Marinette nodded. Adrien threw his head back, resting it against the cool metal on Marinette's desk. 

"Chlo' told me about the... uh... letters."

"I-it's nothing..." Marinette sniffled, holding the handkerchief over her nose. 

"No. It's not. I've been through what you're going through," Adrien's lime green eyes flashed from the scars on his ankles back to Marinette's blobby eyes. Cutting himself on his arms wasn't an option, as his dad and everyone else, could see. But his ankles though? Could be covered with socks and pants. 

"It's not. Tell me everything."   
  
"I..." she opened her mouth, hoping that nothing would come out; but instead, she confessed everything. The suicidal thoughts, the self-harm, the bullying. At the end, she was full-on sobbing onto Adrien's shoulder. He ignored the tight grip she had on his hair, instead rubbing circles onto her back. 

**(Lmao, imagine instead of her confessing she just threw up and Adrien's like: wtf)**

~  
  


Lila had gone and done it. 

About a month ago, Marinette had decided to commit suicide. 

She was still alive; just in a coma. 

About two weeks ago, Marinette woke up, weak and malnourished. 

About one week ago, Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng were able to bring her back home, demanding to know _everything_.   
  
About three days ago, Lila Rossi was expelled from College Francoise-Dupont, just not jailed. 

And about an hour ago, Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng had sat down with Marinette again, explaining _this_ to poor Marinette, eyes filled with tears, throats scratchy. 

How Marinette was to be sent to a city in America, in the state of New Jersey, called Gotham.   
  
A city full of crime, gangs, and rapists. 

To stay with Sabine's younger sister, Colette. 

"But, _why_?!" Marinette questioned. Life was getting better now. Lila was now in a private boarding school, away from her and everyone else, Alya was in a juvenile detention center, and the suicide letters stopped. Not to mention, the comeback of Kitty Section was now exploding across the Internet. 

"We... think it will be better for you," Sabine put a hand to her mouth, trying to prevent herself from crying out. Tom nodded. As much as Marinette wanted to object, she knew that her parents just wanted the best for her. 

"I... okay," Marinette forced a smile, blinking back her tears. 

"Thank you Marinette... I'm...I'm so sorry," Sabine broke down. Tom pulled her in for a hug, wiping at his own eyes.   
  
"Mom, d-don't cry," she stuttered, forming a group hug. 

"I'm s-sorry," Sabine cried. Marinette just held on to her parents tighter. 

"It's alright," she whispered. "I'll be alright..." 

~

Adrien, Luka, Juleka, Alix, Kim, Max, Kagami and Chloe were all crowded in Marinette's bedroom, helping her pack. It was like a mini go away party blended with Chloe continuously applying mascara, crying, wiping it off, reapplying, going back to step two. 

Posters were rolled up, fitted into a box filled with pictures. 

A sewing kit, alongside some clothes were thrown into another box.

In total, five boxes were placed alongside Marinette's door to be sent to Colette's place. 

Sabine stopped in the middle of the 'party,' bringing snacks and drinks. 

Kim chugged a grape soda, letting out an unholy burp. 

Kagami, Chloe and Max cringed while Marinette and the others howled with laughter. Chloe did everyone's hair, giving Luka a multicolored braid that trailed up his back-

I like guys with long hair. 

-Adrien pigtails like Marinette's, Kagami a unicorn do, and tied Max's dreads into a bun. 

Luka brought his guitar, allowing the members of Kitty Section, minus Rose, to have a nice acapella of different songs. Jagged Stone, Queen, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Guns and Roses. 

However, at the end of the night, the sobbing and wails came back. Kagami, the one who was hard to break, was the first to start crying, breaking down after watching Marinette check her passport. Just another sign that they were going to miss the Dupain-Cheng more than ever. 

Next was Juleka, crying into her older brother's shoulder. 

Followed closely by Kim, Chloe, Adrien, Max, Alix and once again, Chloe. 

"Alright," Nino sniffed. "This is probably g-gonna be the last toast... I," Alix patted his back. "I- ever make... so dudes... and dudettes... raise your sodas... one more time for Marinette!" 

"Hai!" cherry, strawberry, orange, and lime sodas all clacked together in a circle. 

"O-one at a time... 'Gami..." 

The Japanese fencer wiped at her eyes. "To the girl who c-chose to befriend me despite my strict and rude mannerism..."

"To the g-girl who changed me... and became the person I idol and trust..." Chloe choked out. 

"To the girl who introduced me to Adrien... and made our band go viral..." Luka chimed. 

"To the girl who helped me escape my f-father and eventually forgave me for everything..." Adrien sniffled. 

"I s-second that..." 

Everyone else went, all very emotional. Marinette felt like sobbing during each one. 

"Alright, everyone. To the bestest friend we've ever had... Marinette... Dupain-Cheng... cul sec!" Nino finished. Everyone took a swig of soda. 

~  
  


Marinette boarded her plane, eyes red and puffy. 

Last night was spent crying, this morning spent crying. 

All in all, she felt like shit. 

She eventually found herself at her window seat, leaning against the cold window, silently crying, wishing that the empty spot next to her was occupied by one of her friends. 

_(t.b.c)_


	2. Welcome To The Black Parade

Marinette stepped through the terminal, carry-on on her back, red suitcase close to her. So far, her first impression of Gotham was:

Dark. 

Cloudy. 

Smelled like sewage, rain, and moist leaves. 

Was it going to rain? 

Where's my aunt? 

Police sirens sounded in the distance. People ran/walked all over, heading in or out of the busy airport. Cars honked and swerved, trying to get out of the trafficked terminal. Marinette felt beyond uncomfortable. Here she was in Gotham City, all alone, with only her broken, yet fluent English to help her. 

"Marinette!" said, Marinette, turned around to see a woman in about her early thirties running towards her. Her blueish-black hair was in a messy bun, bouncing with her every step. Coffee stains covered her beige cardigan. Underneath that, she wore a white tee-shirt dress and neon pink sneakers. 

"A-auntie Colette?" 

The lady, now identified as her Aunt Colette, panted in front of her, hands on her knees. 

"Oh my, it's so good to see you! I haven't seen you since you were three! You've grown so much!" she quickly hugged Marinette. Perfume, coffee, and pen ink wafted into Marinette's nose. Colette's French was slightly off, with more of an American accent to it. Figures. 

"I'm sorry I didn't come earlier... _pant_... I have to return to work in..." Colette checked her watch. "About twenty minutes... come, come, my car is this way..." 

"Oh, um, okay. Thanks, Auntie?" 

Colette nodded, taking Marinette's suitcase. "Come, come!" 

Marinette and Colette weaved past people and carts of suitcases, running through the parking garage. Colette made a pit-stop in front of a 1990 Honda Civic in a fading khaki color. She kicked open the trunk, practically forcing the trunk to make more space for Marinette's suitcase. 

Once the suitcase was secure, Colette slammed the trunk closed, walking over to the driver's seat. Marinette slowly slid into the passenger seat, only to be stopped by Colette. 

"Hold on, hold on," she pulled a pair of high heels off the seat, tossing them into the backseat. So that's why she had those ridiculous sneakers on. "Alright. Now you can sit." 

Marinette managed a smile. Once everything was closed and the seatbelts were on-

Safety first. 

-Colette backed out of the parking garage, driving down the ramps all the way down to the toll where she paid. Now they were on an open highway, driving past all sorts of cars and buildings. One building in particular, stood out to her. 

A huge skyscraper with an awning made of silver with the letters 'W' and 'E' on it. 

"So, Marinette. Are you hungry? Tired, feel sick or anything? We can go get lunch real quick," Colette changed lanes, taking a quick glance at her watch. 

"Oh no, it's fine, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired but that's it."   
  
"You sure? You're not hungry or anything?" Colette took an exit. Marinette was now able to see the stores and streets better now. Kids were rough-housing on a small playground, leaping off swings and climbing up the slides. Next to that, a group of college kids were all tapping away on laptops inside some sort of restaurant called 'Caroline's Diner' while snarfing away on sesame bagels. Mm, sesame. I'm more of a plain/blueberry person. 

(Yes, all the locations in this story are semi-canon) 

Colette turned, alerting Marinette. The car engine turned off, the car still. 

"We're here," Colette closed her door, going back to get the suitcase. 

_'She's fast...'_ Marinette thought as she also got out. This must be where her aunt lived. An old apartment complex. The color was a 'nice' soggy + old sponge. Laundry was draped over almost every balcony. 

"Alright, this way," Colette said, leading Marinette into the lobby. An old woman ignored the two at the front desk, instead burping and going back to watching her soap operas while eating curly fries. The heavy smell of bleach and cleaning sprays burnt Marinette's nose hairs. Finally stepping in to the elevator, Marinette watched as Colette pressed the '4' button.

_'4, 4, 4.... gots to remember that.'_

_'When I was... a young boy~'_ Marinette immediately recognized the song. 

"Um, Aunt Colette? Why does the elevator play 'My Chemical Romance' songs?" 

Colette sighed. "I really don't know. I think it's because the building manager likes the band."

~

Marinette laid on her guest bed, not sure what to do. Colette had given her a quick flat tour - it really wasn't much. A small guest bathroom for her, one guest room, two bedrooms, a walk-in kitchen and a balcony. 

It was about midnight in Paris, meaning that the only person awake would be Alix, but Marinette didn't exactly feel like talking to them at the moment. Yes, she loved and cherished all her friends, but something was just... different for her. 

Here she was, a semi-suicidal high school senior in Gotham City, a close eight hours (flight time) away from Paris. Just lying on a squeaky bed in a guest room with old, dusty salmon pink wallpaper and neighbors who won't stop fucking, based on the excessive squeaking coming from the opposite side. 

She heavily sighed as she got up.

Boxes of her stuff were lined next to the creaky door, which was currently locked. 

"Might as well... unpacked..." she took the first box, ripping off the tape. This one was filled with some extra clothes, like her sundresses and hoodies. She hadn't worn a sundress in a while - people ought to see her scars and ask what was wrong. That would've been hard to explain.

_"Oh my demon cat scratched me."_

Or.

_"Oh, these bitches bullied me to a point where I grew into a state of depression were the only relief I got was by slashing my wrists and watching dizzily as the blood poured onto my white sheets."_

On the bottom of the box, there was a surprise.

_~A roach!~_

Just kidding. 

A scrapbook filled with photos from the past four years. On the front, there was a note from all her classmates, excluding Alya and Lila.

_We'll miss you! Kitties for life! ~ Rose_

_Best luck to you, Marinette. ~ Ivan_

There were more, brightening up Marinette's mood. She set that aside, opening the next boxes. This one was her posters and pictures. She'll have to ask Colette later if she could put those up. Finally, the last box was just clothes. 

Anddddd.... once again, she was bored and tired. 

~

Marinette sat on the balcony, watching the kids at the skatepark right next to the apartment complex. This one girl with multicolored hair and multiple piercings was the one she mainly watched. She would go from doing these intense triple kickflips to dancing in sync to the k-pop or rap music that was playing. 

Another boy, whom she assumed was her brother or friend sat next to a girl with puffy, curly lilac hair who also occasionally went down some ramps on her own skateboard, but mainly talked to the boy and took pictures. 

There was also another girl, with tan skin and brown hair, who would continuously try to get the boy to talk to her. 

Something about her was different... in a way.   
  


Yet so, so familiar.

"Marinette! I'm home!" 

"Oh!" Marinette hurried back into the room to greet her aunt. 

(t.b.c) 


	3. Downtown, Chinatown

It had been around three days since Marinette arrived in Gotham City. To be honest, it was actually kind of cool. Colette had told her all about the company she worked at, Wayne Enterprises, which had so many different businesses, not even she could count. 

On Colette's day offs, they would head down to Chinatown, taking a look at all the authentic jewelry and foods they sold. Marinette had been quite anxious about going there the first time, after reading about all the crime. Luckily, the only crime they witnessed was a robbery, of which the police took care of. 

"So Marinette," Colette paused to take a bite out of her baozi. (steamed pork/meat bun)

"Hm?" Marinette looked up from her own baozi. 

"Do you want to take a quick look at your school? You still have two more days before school starts again here," she asked, mentally cursing at the lady who cut her off in the lane. Marinette paused to think about it.

It would be nice, considering the fact that she'll probably have no idea where the hell she would be going on her first day. 

"I- yes please. If that alright with you?" she murmured, smiling towards the end. 

"Of course it's all right with me, I asked!" Colette laughed, exiting the highway. Marinette also chuckled, still a little awkward. 

"Gotham High, huh?" Colette stopped at a redlight. Marinette nodded. 

"Hm. My boss' kids go there. The Wayne kids?" 

Marinette was flabbergasted. "Wait, wait, wait. _Wayne_ , like _Bruce Wayne_?!" 

"Yeah? I told you, I work for Wayne Enterprises! Bruce Wayne is my boss!" 

Once again, Marinette was shook _eth_. Wouldn't kids from someone so economically powerful go to some rich kid school? Well then again, Adrien's _bitchy_ father was epically famous, as was he, yet he still went to a basic high school. As did Chloe, the daughter of Audrey and Andre Bourgeois, a fashion designer and the mayor of _fucking_ Paris. 

But these were the _Wayne's_ Colette was talking about. 

Children of a billionaire playboy whose name is known in every single continent and country. Or that was just Marinette exaggerating. Colette, being the observant wine aunt she was, laughed once more at her niece. 

"You're wondering why they go to a normal public school, hm?" she smirked. Marinette turned pink. 

"N-not necessarily! I was kind of confused..." she stuttered. Colette turned around a corner. 

"Those kids are the definition of a human tornado," Colette held back a laugh. "They come into the office all hyped up, bringing everyone coffee's and creating chaos." 

"Chaos?" 

"They fight a lot. Specifically... I think it's Tim and Damian?" 

"O-oh..." Marinette said. Hm. So the reason they go to a public school is because they're too rowdy for a private, prep school/academy. Good to know. Colette nodded. 

"Anyways, we're here!" she announced. 

~

"Hi! I'm Colette Cheng! I'm here with my niece Marinette! She's enrolled here, and we wanted to know if we could get a tour of the school real quick?" Colette asked the desk secretary. Marinette awkwardly smiled at the lady, quickly averting her eyes to a poster on the right wall of the office. 

_'Gotham High Titans'_

(Quick note: The GH Titans are originally a football team, but I'm making them a soccer team because- I want to. _My fic, my rules-)_

That must be the soccer team. 

"Alright... I see she's registered... she's the transfer from France?" 

"Yes, ma'am." 

"Okay. I'll go get someone for you." 

"Thanks so much!" 

The office lady slowly got up from her chair, walking into the main office branch. From there, you could hear murmuring. Finally, a girl-

Wait. 

Frizzy lilac hair. 

Camera. 

"Hi! I'm Novus Seo-yeon Bahrenburg! I'm the president of the yearbook club!" she held out her hand for Marinette to shake. Marinette took it, shaking it very gently. 

_'This was the girl from the skatepark!'_

"Hi, Ms. Cheng!" she waved at the WE worker. Colette waved back, already knowing who she was. Novus smiled. "You're here for a tour?" 

Marinette shyly nodded. "Y-yes." 

"Alright! I'm not the one giving you the tour, but..." 

"You needed something, Bahrenburg?" a tall, tan-skinned boy in a soccer uniform walked in to the office, glistening with a thin layer of sweat. Novus pouted, groaning. 

"I told you, call me 'Nova!' Anyways," she motioned towards Marinette. "This is Marinette...?" 

"...Dupain-Cheng." 

"Dupain-Cheng! She's here for a tour! She starts Monday!" 

"Tt. Damian Wayne." he didn't raise his hand or anything to greet her. Marinette internally scowled. 

_"Okay, rude..."_ she thought. Damian walked over to Marinette, hands in his short pockets. 

"Let's go." 

"O-okay?!" Marinette looked behind her to see her aunt and Nova looking over a schedule. Damian led her out the office, walking past the huge trophy cases. Marinette snuck a quick peek at them, internally 'oo-ing' at the 'Wayne' one's, which were pretty much all of them. 

_'xx-xx Championship Winner Richard Grayson-Wayne'_

_'xx-xx 1st Place Winner Timothy Drake-Wayne'_

Wayne's must like sports. Interesting. A harsh tone broke her out of her thoughts. 

"Are you coming or what?" Damian growled, arms crossed. Marinette's eyes widened, hurrying over to where her 'tour guide' was standing. He 'tt'ed again, continuing to walk and point at things, mumbling the locations. So much for a tour guide who actually _tried_ to make an effort to show her around. 

Not to mention, he was a _WAYNE?!_ No way in hell. 

Marinette lazily walked beside him, sneaking some quick glances at him. He had these sharp hooded eyes with these _~gorgeous~_ emerald colored eyes that would shimmer just like a real emerald would under the hall lights. He also had these thin yet muscular arms that brought more attention to his tone body. Not a speckle of hair on any of his arms or legs, based on the smoothness she saw from above his knee-length soccer socks. 

His hair was styled in an undercut - swooped up style that she would see k-pop idols pull off. 

"That's it for the tour." 

"T-that's it?" Marinette barely learned where the fucking bathrooms were during this 'tour.' 

"Yes."

"I-i don't even know where anything is! All you did was point and mumble something!" 

"I told you what each class was. Did you not listen?!" 

Marinette's face turned a voluptuous shade of red. 

"I couldn't _hear_ you, since you were practically whisper-"

"Damian!~" a girl in a cheerleading uniform leaped onto Damian's back. She had a similar appearance to Lila, bringing a slight panic to Marinette's being. Matched tan skin, reddish-brownish hair, and amber colored eyes filled with greed and power. 

"What do you need Liliana?" 

_Liliana._

Something triggered in Marinette. She frowned, digging her nails into her palms behind her back. The girl didn't notice her at first; she instead gave Damian a wet kiss before she actually noticed the unknown girl standing in front of them. 

"Damian - who's this?" she snarked, cringing at her outfit. A jean skirt, red long sleeve shirt and a peach pink and white jean vest with black converse. Damian rubbed off the lipstick stain on his cheek, wiping the back of his hand on his shorts. 

"Liliana, this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Marinette, this is Liliana Ross."

(Did y'all see what I did there with my oc?) 

"Hello..." Marinette whispered, looking away like she did in the school office. Liliana rolled her eyes, taking a look at her fake nails. Damian inhaled sharply, exhaling. 

"So. What brings you here from Paris, Marinette?" Liliana asked, flipping her almost replicated sausage hair over her shoulder, chewing a piece of watermelon gum obnoxiously loud. Marinette unclasped her hands, bringing them to her side. 

"What can you not speak English or something?" 

"I can. I'm here... because I... I had some problems back at home?" 

Liliana pulled out a hideous phone, tapping away on it. Her phone case was covered in these fluffy 'bunny' decorations, alongside melted Barbie accessories and fake pearls and rhinestones. Marinette held back a gag at the sight of it. This girl was basically the American version of Lila Rossi, and that wasn't a good thing. 

"So... your parents are like, fighting or something?" 

"No, no, it's not about my parents, it's... uh, my mental health and such." 

_'Goddammit Marinette, stop, stop, stop! Don't go telling random people about your problems-'_

"Is everything okay?" 

There it was. 

The heavenly, yet unholy words said by a worried- 

-yes, you read that right, _worried,_ Damian Wayne. 

"I'll be fine. I'd like to go back to the office now," she plastered a fake smile on her face, ignoring the tears trying to stream down her freckles cheeks. 

"Sure..." Damian and Marinette walked past Liliana, who had a look of disgust and envy on her face. As they walked, Damian couldn't help but feel sorry for Marinette...

He knew she was faking being 'okay.' 

He knew about her mental health.

(No, he's not a fucking stalker) 

~

"Yo, Demon Spawn! Where were you?" Ashe asked, kicking a soccer ball up and down. Saturday's half-day practice had came to an end about ten minutes ago, leaving only Jon and Bart, as well as Ashe and a couple other players on the field doing some last minute goal practice or jogs around the track. 

"I had to give a new girl a tour." 

"Ha, loser. You missed out on Bart's major flop!" she pointed at the huge chin to waist patch of mud on Bart Allen's uniform/body. The redhead turned as red as his hair, making shushing motions at the Wayne. 

Jon and Ashe giggled. "Anyways, we're heading to Bludhaven after this. Meadowdale Mall with Richie and Walls. Wanna go?" 

The trio already knew that Demon Spawn had to say 'yes' - he had nothing else to do, and as always, his slightly older sister and his friends (Jon, Bart, Nova) always had something they wanted to do. 

"Fine..." 

"YES!" 

(t.b.c) 


	4. Dick Grayson: Mall Cop 2

Jon, Bart, Damian, Nova, and Ashe all piled into Jon's four-seater convertible, trying to get comfortable. Damian, the 'alpha' of the 'pack' took shotgun, sitting in the uncrowded, more spaceful front seat while Bart, Nova and Ashe all had to sit in the back.

"Why the _fuck_ did you think getting a convertible was a good idea?" Bart cursed as he tried to sit on the incredibly large gap in between the two actual seats. They never got pulled over - Bruce had something over the police - but it doesn't mean that they didn't get reprimanded by Lois Kent, for safety issues. 

"I liked how it looked! Not to mention the blue matches the Superfam's costumes-" 

"This shade of blue is _disgusting,_ " Damian snarked, pulling on his sunglasses. Jon sadly frowned, adjusting his glasses. 

"Well _I_ like it, therefore, it stays. Plus, I don't have the money to get the color changed," Jon started the ignition. The car rumbled to life. Jon backed out of the student parking lot, out, and onto the main road. 

"You do realize your literal friends with the kids of a _billionaire?"_ Ashe dug through her pockets, trying to find her aux cord. "Anyways, where's the aux cord? Damian?" 

Damian held it up, passing it to her. 

Ashe plugged it in to her phone, scrolling through her playlists. When she finally found a song she liked, she hit 'play.' Bart and Nova already began to bop to the music. 

_'All I am is a man_

_I want the world in my hands  
I hate the beach  
But I stand in California with my toes in the sand_

_Use the sleeves of my sweater  
Let's have an adventure  
_

_Head in the clouds but my gravity's centered'_

(Bisexual anthem anyone? Sweater Weather?) 

~

"You up for some more shopping or are you done for the day? We can always head to Bludhaven. We can grab a late lunch at Mr. Pickle's Deli," (Yes, that's a canon place) Colette laughed at the deli name. Marinette also found it a little amusing. 

"That would be nice," Marinette said. Colette nodded, as if physically saying 'My niece knows what's good.' 

"Mr. Pickle's Deli it is! Not sure if it's open though. There's been some problems with the owner lately." 

"Are they okay?" 

"I think so. They've been having some problem with their mental health." 

Marinette bit her lip. _'Same...'_

~

Stepping out of the car, the group all looked as if they walked out of both the children's clothes section and the high-class clothing section in a fashion magazine.

Jon with his cobalt blue button up, fedora, black skinny jeans and black rimmed glasses, he was like Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy, but Tenya Iida from My Hero Academia was cosplaying him. Or vice versa. 

Damian was styling designer sunglasses, a grey turtleneck, black skinny jeans like Jon, a white knit scarf, and boots. Incognito mode; he was a Wayne afterall. 

_DAYUMMMM_

Bart walked next to Jon, pulling off a red and white soccer jersey, ripped blue jeans and Flash-inspired converse, hands behind his hand, leaning back slightly. 

Nova in an oversized lime green sweater, baggy jeans, camera, lilac hair tied up in a messy ponytail and jade star/moon earrings. 

Yes, there's one more, hold on. 

Ashe, a purple mid-breast crop top over a red bralette, chains, white skirt, knee length converse. E-girl much? Neon takes its human form in Achaya Wayne. 

Okay, that's it. 

I swear. 

Maybe not. 

~

"Are they here yet?" Dick sipped some of his boba, scrolling through his phone. Next to him, his boyfriend, Wally West, was scrolling through his phone. The two lovebirds were currently leaning against the railing that protected people from accidently falling in to the indoor waterfall. Mall life, _boiii_

"Bart says he's on his way with the Demon and the Twinkle Trio," Wally slid his phone back into his jean pocket, stealing a sip of Dick's boba. ...that sounds wrong...

What the fuck is wrong with me? 

"I was drinking that!" Dick frowned. Wally playfully grinned, wrapping his arm around the younger male's waist. 

"Does the entire world really need to see your public displays of affection?" Damian asked, his green eyes peering from under his sunglasses. Wally quickly removed his hand off Dick's waist, keeping his hands behind his back. He began to whistle randomly and offkey. 

"Wally!" Bart leaped towards Wally, forcing him to catch his nephew - cousin - distant family member - first cousin, twice removed - WTF is a first cousin? Wally caught him, getting attacked by a hug. 

"How's it been, Bart?" he set him down, ruffling Bart's iconic West - Allen hair. Bart rushed to fix his messed up hair, babbling about his week to Wally.

Damian leant against the railing, ignoring the texts Liliana had been spamming him nonstop. 

Ashe and Nova were peering over the metal fence, admiring and taking pictures of the carp swimming around in the little pools. 

Jon was off on his own, staring longingly at the O' Shaughnessy's, with their extra large strawberry shakes and soggy yet heavenly French Fries. 

"So, lunch?" Jon asked, stomach rumbling like a motorcycle. Murmurs of 'yeah' or 'hell yes!'. 

"What are we feeling today? Bagels at Starbucks or burgers of 'nessy's?" Wally leant on Bart's shoulder as they all walked. Damian snorted in disgust. Greasy food wasn't really for him. The bagels from Starbucks tasted like sawdust. 

"Bagels~ bagels~ bagels~" Jon, Bart, Ashe and Nova sang. 

Damian internally gagged. Of course his friends/siblings wanted to eat bagels. Something told him that the employees wiped the floors with those before displaying them for sale. 

~

"Sorry about that. I guess the old man wasn't feeling the greatest today," Colette apologized to Marinette. "He's really gone through a lot these few years..." 

The owner of Mr. Pickle's Deli, who coincidentally was _also_ named 'Mr. Pickles' had the sandwich shop closed today due to personal reasons. Marinette chose not to ask about what he had been through; prying through someone's past wasn't something she particularly liked, even if she was forced to as Ladybug, or even just her normal self. 

"We can always head to the mall for a late lunch. They got some really good restaurants inside. Meadowdale Mall~..." Colette lightly tapped against her steering wheel. 

"Sure," Marinette turned to see out the window. 

How she wished to be with Tikki. As Ladybug, running across rooftops and swinging from high ledges. 

Ever since the fall of Hawkmoth, Tikki and the other kwamis, as well as the miraculouses were in Master Fu's possession as of last week. They both agreed that it would be safer for both the kwamis and the miraculous to stay in Paris, as they no longer had any enemies. 

In Gotham, robberies and power hungry villains roamed, meaning that if one of them got their hands on the any of the miraculous, chances are Marinette would be saddled with another Hawkmoth replica to deal with. 

~ 

"DAMIAN!" 

Said, Damian, groaned, setting down his black coffee. In strutted Liliana and all her pinkness. Seriously. Pink tube skirt, magenta mini skirt, pearly pink acrylic nails. The only things that weren't pink on her, was Damian's leather jacket she 'borrowed' and her white handbag. 

Ashe nearly spewed her Thai tea out of her nose at the sight of the pink crayon. 

(No, I'm not going with the stereotypical 'pink, overdramatic' girlfriend. I'm going with 3D printed American Lila.) 

Jon and Bart chose to stare at the table, finishing up the rest of their Starbucks cookies. 

Dick coughed into his hand, Wally copying. 

Nova, who had just came back with her passion fruit tea (best thing on the fucking menu-) nearly dropped it alongside her receipt and change. 

"Why haven't you been answering any of my texts?!" she demanded answers, based on the way she practically shoved Ashe out of her chair, replacing the now, empty spot with her handbag. Ashe sat on the floor, sipping her tea while glaring literal daggers into Liliana's thick skull. 

"I was spending time with my siblings and Jon's friend." 

Bart looked over at Damian like he was some type of roach Damian brutally murdered with a sandal. Jon held back a laugh, chugging the rest of his frappe. 

_"Bitch, wha-"_

"So, I'm not important? You clearly have time to spend with these," she motioned her hand around as if pointing towards a dead, rotting raccoon carcase on the side of the road. "People." 

"I'm not allowed to spend time with my family?" 

_"Aw, he cares about us!"_ Ashe whispered to Dick from her spot on the floor. 

"Shut up, Ashe." 

"Hmph." 

~

(Short little time skip) 

Liliana clung to Damian's arm (Bitch, get the fuck off-) like her whole life was just focused on the Wayne. Unlike Liliana, Nova knew her girlfriend's personal boundaries, and just chose to hold onto one of her fingers, like always. 

"Where to next?" Dick checked the time. _2:47_

"How about-" 

"HEY!" Liliana shouted. There was a visible scratch (yes, you can scratch a leather jacket, I know, I own and wear one) on the leather jacket she was wearing. And guess who was quietly apologising to her on the ground?

It's obvious. 

Marinette.

"I-i didn't see you there, I got seperated from my aunt, and I-"

Liliana took another look at Marinette. Her eyes widened when she finally recognized who it was. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Wow. WOW!" she began to clap, bringing more attention to them. Damian pulled his scarf further up his neck, trying to 'drown' his face it. 

"Alright, Liliana, that's enough. It was an accident. We can repair it-" Ashe started. 

"No, no, no," she cut her off. "She should take responsibility. Marinette just _damaged_ my precious _boyfriend's_ jacket! Did you know he wore this to our two year anniversary? This has memories! It can't be repaired!"

"Oh my god," Damian mumbled under his scarf. Great. Now his psychotic fucking girlfriend was going to start a fight with the new girl who accidently scored the arm of the jacket with her nail while innocently walking by. 

"Liliana, it's fine. Just give me the jacket so I can repair it-"

"I-i can repair it! I have experience with this type of stuff!" Marinette quickly blurted. _'SHIT!'_

"Great!" Ashe practically wrestled the jacket of Liliana, handing it over to Marinette. She then opened her wallet, handing her a crisp, brand-new Ben Franklin. Or just, a hundred dollars. 

"You go to Gotham High?" 

Marinette nodded. Behind Ashe, Liliana let out a string of gagging noises. 

You choking on dick or some shit? 

"Perfect! How long to fix it?" 

Marinette looked at the scratch. It was a line of flaked off leather. This would take about the rest of her weekend. Ashe gave her a kind smile. 

"Here, I'll double that." Another hundred dollars.

"N-no, it's okay-" 

_"Take it."_

"Okay. T-thanks." 

"No problem!" Ashe stretched her hands up. "I'll see you on Monday! Don't forget the jacket! Thanks again!" 

"I- no problem!" she said. 

~ 

The leather jacket laid over Marinette's armchair, forgotten. Her bluebell eyes stared sadly at it. After dinner she'll have to take care of the flaking. She rolled onto her back, looking up at the spider on the popcorn ceiling. 

"Hey..." she whispered to it. The spider only climbed higher onto its web, reeling back up. Marinette sighed, picking up her phone. She needed to talk to someone. 

_Maman + Papa._

_Bringg.... bringg... Je suis désolé. Le numéro que vous essayez d'appeler est actuellement indisponible._

Great. So her parents were probably asleep, not able to pick up the phone. That must mean her friends too. 

Her arm slumped down. 

Slowly, her eyes began to flutter shut. 

Maybe if she took a short nap, she'd be able to feel, be back in Paris, having her parents and friends with her. She'd be able to have her nightly patrol around the city of love with Chat, talking about life while taking down the occasional criminal. 

_Paris..._

(t.b.c) 

Jon, Bart, Damian, Nova, and Ashe all piled into Jon's four-seater convertible, trying to get comfortable. Damian, the 'alpha' of the 'pack' took shotgun, sitting in the uncrowded, more spaceful front seat while Bart, Nova and Ashe all had to sit in the back.

"Why the _fuck_ did you think getting a convertible was a good idea?" Bart cursed as he tried to sit on the incredibly large gap in between the two actual seats. They never got pulled over - Bruce had something over the police - but it doesn't mean that they didn't get reprimanded by Lois Kent, for safety issues. 

"I liked how it looked! Not to mention the blue matches the Superfam's costumes-" 

"This shade of blue is _disgusting,_ " Damian snarked, pulling on his sunglasses. Jon sadly frowned, adjusting his glasses. 

"Well _I_ like it, therefore, it stays. Plus, I don't have the money to get the color changed," Jon started the ignition. The car rumbled to life. Jon backed out of the student parking lot, out, and onto the main road. 

"You do realize your literal friends with the kids of a _billionaire?"_ Ashe dug through her pockets, trying to find her aux cord. "Anyways, where's the aux cord? Damian?" 

Damian held it up, passing it to her. 

Ashe plugged it in to her phone, scrolling through her playlists. When she finally found a song she liked, she hit 'play.' Bart and Nova already began to bop to the music. 

_'All I am is a man_

_I want the world in my hands  
I hate the beach  
But I stand in California with my toes in the sand_

_Use the sleeves of my sweater_  
Let's have an adventure  


_Head in the clouds but my gravity's centered'_

(Bisexual anthem anyone? Sweater Weather?) 

~

"You up for some more shopping or are you done for the day? We can always head to Bludhaven. We can grab a late lunch at Mr. Pickle's Deli," (Yes, that's a canon place) Colette laughed at the deli name. Marinette also found it a little amusing. 

"That would be nice," Marinette said. Colette nodded, as if physically saying 'My niece knows what's good.' 

"Mr. Pickle's Deli it is! Not sure if it's open though. There's been some problems with the owner lately." 

"Are they okay?" 

"I think so. They've been having some problem with their mental health." 

Marinette bit her lip. _'Same...'_

~

Stepping out of the car, the group all looked as if they walked out of both the children's clothes section and the high-class clothing section in a fashion magazine.

Jon with his cobalt blue button up, fedora, black skinny jeans and black rimmed glasses, he was like Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy, but Tenya Iida from My Hero Academia was cosplaying him. Or vice versa. 

Damian was styling designer sunglasses, a grey turtleneck, black skinny jeans like Jon, a white knit scarf, and boots. Incognito mode; he was a Wayne afterall. 

_DAYUMMMM_

Bart walked next to Jon, pulling off a red and white soccer jersey, ripped blue jeans and Flash-inspired converse, hands behind his hand, leaning back slightly. 

Nova in an oversized lime green sweater, baggy jeans, camera, lilac hair tied up in a messy ponytail and jade star/moon earrings. 

Yes, there's one more, hold on. 

Ashe, a purple mid-breast crop top over a red bralette, chains, white skirt, knee length converse. E-girl much? Neon takes its human form in Achaya Wayne. 

Okay, that's it. 

I swear. 

Maybe not. 

~

"Are they here yet?" Dick sipped some of his boba, scrolling through his phone. Next to him, his boyfriend, Wally West, was scrolling through his phone. The two lovebirds were currently leaning against the railing that protected people from accidently falling in to the indoor waterfall. Mall life, _boiii_

"Bart says he's on his way with the Demon and the Twinkle Trio," Wally slid his phone back into his jean pocket, stealing a sip of Dick's boba. ...that sounds wrong...

What the fuck is wrong with me? 

"I was drinking that!" Dick frowned. Wally playfully grinned, wrapping his arm around the younger male's waist. 

"Does the entire world really need to see your public displays of affection?" Damian asked, his green eyes peering from under his sunglasses. Wally quickly removed his hand off Dick's waist, keeping his hands behind his back. He began to whistle randomly and offkey. 

"Wally!" Bart leaped towards Wally, forcing him to catch his nephew - cousin - distant family member - first cousin, twice removed - WTF is a first cousin? Wally caught him, getting attacked by a hug. 

"How's it been, Bart?" he set him down, ruffling Bart's iconic West - Allen hair. Bart rushed to fix his messed up hair, babbling about his week to Wally.

Damian leant against the railing, ignoring the texts Liliana had been spamming him nonstop. 

Ashe and Nova were peering over the metal fence, admiring and taking pictures of the carp swimming around in the little pools. 

Jon was off on his own, staring longingly at the O' Shaughnessy's, with their extra large strawberry shakes and soggy yet heavenly French Fries. 

"So, lunch?" Jon asked, stomach rumbling like a motorcycle. Murmurs of 'yeah' or 'hell yes!'. 

"What are we feeling today? Bagels at Starbucks or burgers of 'nessy's?" Wally leant on Bart's shoulder as they all walked. Damian snorted in disgust. Greasy food wasn't really for him. The bagels from Starbucks tasted like sawdust. 

"Bagels~ bagels~ bagels~" Jon, Bart, Ashe and Nova sang. 

Damian internally gagged. Of course his friends/siblings wanted to eat bagels. Something told him that the employees wiped the floors with those before displaying them for sale. 

~

"Sorry about that. I guess the old man wasn't feeling the greatest today," Colette apologized to Marinette. "He's really gone through a lot these few years..." 

The owner of Mr. Pickle's Deli, who coincidentally was _also_ named 'Mr. Pickles' had the sandwich shop closed today due to personal reasons. Marinette chose not to ask about what he had been through; prying through someone's past wasn't something she particularly liked, even if she was forced to as Ladybug, or even just her normal self. 

"We can always head to the mall for a late lunch. They got some really good restaurants inside. Meadowdale Mall~..." Colette lightly tapped against her steering wheel. 

"Sure," Marinette turned to see out the window. 

How she wished to be with Tikki. As Ladybug, running across rooftops and swinging from high ledges. 

Ever since the fall of Hawkmoth, Tikki and the other kwamis, as well as the miraculouses were in Master Fu's possession as of last week. They both agreed that it would be safer for both the kwamis and the miraculous to stay in Paris, as they no longer had any enemies. 

In Gotham, robberies and power hungry villains roamed, meaning that if one of them got their hands on the any of the miraculous, chances are Marinette would be saddled with another Hawkmoth replica to deal with. 

~ 

"DAMIAN!" 

Said, Damian, groaned, setting down his black coffee. In strutted Liliana and all her pinkness. Seriously. Pink tube skirt, magenta mini skirt, pearly pink acrylic nails. The only things that weren't pink on her, was Damian's leather jacket she 'borrowed' and her white handbag. 

Ashe nearly spewed her Thai tea out of her nose at the sight of the pink crayon. 

(No, I'm not going with the stereotypical 'pink, overdramatic' girlfriend. I'm going with 3D printed American Lila.) 

Jon and Bart chose to stare at the table, finishing up the rest of their Starbucks cookies. 

Dick coughed into his hand, Wally copying. 

Nova, who had just came back with her passion fruit tea (best thing on the fucking menu-) nearly dropped it alongside her receipt and change. 

"Why haven't you been answering any of my texts?!" she demanded answers, based on the way she practically shoved Ashe out of her chair, replacing the now, empty spot with her handbag. Ashe sat on the floor, sipping her tea while glaring literal daggers into Liliana's thick skull. 

"I was spending time with my siblings and Jon's friend." 

Bart looked over at Damian like he was some type of roach Damian brutally murdered with a sandal. Jon held back a laugh, chugging the rest of his frappe. 

_"Bitch, wha-"_

"So, I'm not important? You clearly have time to spend with these," she motioned her hand around as if pointing towards a dead, rotting raccoon carcase on the side of the road. "People." 

"I'm not allowed to spend time with my family?" 

_"Aw, he cares about us!"_ Ashe whispered to Dick from her spot on the floor. 

"Shut up, Ashe." 

"Hmph." 

~

(Short little time skip) 

Liliana clung to Damian's arm (Bitch, get the fuck off-) like her whole life was just focused on the Wayne. Unlike Liliana, Nova knew her girlfriend's personal boundaries, and just chose to hold onto one of her fingers, like always. 

"Where to next?" Dick checked the time. _2:47_

"How about-" 

"HEY!" Liliana shouted. There was a visible scratch (yes, you can scratch a leather jacket, I know, I own and wear one) on the leather jacket she was wearing. And guess who was quietly apologising to her on the ground?

It's obvious. 

Marinette.

"I-i didn't see you there, I got seperated from my aunt, and I-"

Liliana took another look at Marinette. Her eyes widened when she finally recognized who it was. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Wow. WOW!" she began to clap, bringing more attention to them. Damian pulled his scarf further up his neck, trying to 'drown' his face it. 

"Alright, Liliana, that's enough. It was an accident. We can repair it-" Ashe started. 

"No, no, no," she cut her off. "She should take responsibility. Marinette just _damaged_ my precious _boyfriend's_ jacket! Did you know he wore this to our two year anniversary? This has memories! It can't be repaired!"

"Oh my god," Damian mumbled under his scarf. Great. Now his psychotic fucking girlfriend was going to start a fight with the new girl who accidently scored the arm of the jacket with her nail while innocently walking by. 

"Liliana, it's fine. Just give me the jacket so I can repair it-"

"I-i can repair it! I have experience with this type of stuff!" Marinette quickly blurted. _'SHIT!'_

"Great!" Ashe practically wrestled the jacket of Liliana, handing it over to Marinette. She then opened her wallet, handing her a crisp, brand-new Ben Franklin. Or just, a hundred dollars. 

"You go to Gotham High?" 

Marinette nodded. Behind Ashe, Liliana let out a string of gagging noises. 

You choking on dick or some shit? 

"Perfect! How long to fix it?" 

Marinette looked at the scratch. It was a line of flaked off leather. This would take about the rest of her weekend. Ashe gave her a kind smile. 

"Here, I'll double that." Another hundred dollars.

"N-no, it's okay-" 

_"Take it."_

"Okay. T-thanks." 

"No problem!" Ashe stretched her hands up. "I'll see you on Monday! Don't forget the jacket! Thanks again!" 

"I- no problem!" she said. 

~ 

The leather jacket laid over Marinette's armchair, forgotten. Her bluebell eyes stared sadly at it. After dinner she'll have to take care of the flaking. She rolled onto her back, looking up at the spider on the popcorn ceiling. 

"Hey..." she whispered to it. The spider only climbed higher onto its web, reeling back up. Marinette sighed, picking up her phone. She needed to talk to someone. 

_Maman + Papa._

_Bringg.... bringg... Je suis désolé. Le numéro que vous essayez d'appeler est actuellement indisponible._

Great. So her parents were probably asleep, not able to pick up the phone. That must mean her friends too. 

Her arm slumped down. 

Slowly, her eyes began to flutter shut. 

Maybe if she took a short nap, she'd be able to feel, be back in Paris, having her parents and friends with her. She'd be able to have her nightly patrol around the city of love with Chat, talking about life while taking down the occasional criminal. 

_Paris..._

(t.b.c) 


	5. If You're Too School For Cool

First day of school. First day of school. First day of school. 

Whoop - de - doo. 

Marinette was awoken to her phone alarm ringing right next to her ear, causing her to only hear that weird static buzz sound you randomly get for the next two minutes. Her mood however, was a blend of both 'I'm about to puke' combined with 'I can't fucking wait.'

She was a tad bit tired; she decided to risk sleeping in on the night before her first day at a new school to have a two hour facetime session with the MPS fam. Rather be late on the first day than having to sit through Lila's bullying. 

She slowly trudged out of her bedroom to the small kitchen table where Colette was still in her pajamas, sipping coffee while typing away on a laptop. She perked up at the sight of her niece, smiling in greeting. 

"Marinette! You're awake! That's good! I went out earlier and bought you some pastries while I was on my morning jog." 

Sure enough, there was a plastic bag with mooncakes, Danishes, sesame bagels and to go sized cream cheeses. In another bag, which Marinette guessed was her lunch, was a half a club sandwich. 

"Sorry about the lunch thing. There's some money on the counter in case you don't like the sandwich," Colette took another sip of coffee. "I also have some cereal and almond milk if you don't want the pastries." 

"No, no. This is great. Thanks, Auntie!" she beamed. 

Colette nodded, returning back to her work. 

"Excited?" Marinette took mid-spread of her cream cheese. Excited wasn't the right word. She felt more... anxious and ready to pee her pants at any moment. Excited was probably second to last on the list of words she felt. But it was there. Somewhere. Over the rainbow. 

"A little," Marinette began to quickly eat her bagel, just wanting to be alone in Colette's shitty yet functioning mold habitat of a shower so she had more personal time to think of how her stereotyped day was gonna play out.

Liliana would 'greet' her in the hallway, start making a scene, one of the Wayne's would come in to save her, she'd be standing there awkwardly while they threw money at her, all her teachers would think she couldn't understand English and try to explain things in _English_ but ten times slower as if that helped her. 

It didn't.

She was fluent in English - alongside taking learning Chinese, she also learned English. Her accent was just the problem. Hopefully that wouldn't affect her today. Based on her encounters at the mall and her 'school tour,' she'd believe that the students at Gotham High were either crazy rich, snooty, bratty, or incredibly kind. 

Or bitches. 

With one last snarf, Marinette finished her bagel, rushing to the bathroom to get ready. Quick shower, encounter with roach, kill roach, brush teeth, dry hair, put on clothes. 

Apple blossom lined blouse, peachy vest, beige shorts with pink trim over grey leggings, and black flats. 

She fixed her hair into a down, wavy style, deciding not to tie it up like usual. 

"You ready?" Colette called from down the hall. During Marinette's shower, Colette also took the time to get ready. Gelled bun, khakis, pale blue halter top and open toed flats. Wine aunt style. 

*snaps fingers*

"Yup!" Marinette shoved the rest of her school stuff into her monogram backpack. Old binder, old pencil case, old folders, and school issued laptop she received after her weekend tour. Her phone in her back pocket, headphones coiled in her side vest pocket. Lunch in a cute Japanese - style blossom covered cloth bag. And right before she could forget... Damian's leather jacket was carefully placed in her backpack, taking up the most space. 

"Right, let's go!" 

~

"I'll pick you up after school, okay? You have a good day, Marinette. I love you!" 

"I love you too, Auntie. Bye!" Marinette awkwardly waved until Colette's car was out of sight. Only then did she turn around to see all the students scattered across the schoolyard. 

A football was thrown across the yard by a group of guys. One guy in a 'Gotham University' hoodie caught it, crashing into a group of girls chatting. 

In another area, people were pressed against the school walls, shamelessly making out with their partner. 

No making babies on my school yard. 

And then...

"DAMIAN!~" Liliana leaped into Damian's arms. Behind him, the others were making gagging motions. 

"Marinette!" Ashe came up behind the bluenette, skateboard in hand. Unlike her mall outfit, this one was more school - appropriate. Gotham High Titans soccer jersey over orange jacket, ripped leggings and seven, yes, seven inch heels.

"I-uh, Ashe?" That's what she think her name was. 

Her eyes widened. "You remembered! Did you bring the jacket?" 

Marinette swiftly nodded. Ashe grinned. 

"Great! Yo, Demon Spawn!" as she spoke, Marinette noticed she also had a obvious accent. 

_'Russian?'_ she thought. Damian rolled his eyes, approaching his adoptive sister. 

"What is it?" 

"Marinette has your jacket!" Ashe grinned, running off, leaving a flustered Marinette with Damian. Marinette turned a deeper shade of pink as Damian stepped closer. She wasn't blushing because she liked Damian in a romantic way - she was blushing because of her embarrassment. 

_'ASHEEE!'_

"I- here," she dug through her backpack, handing him the repaired jacket. Damian took it, a smile lingering on his lips. She really did know how to repair these things. Guess he would have to give Ashe a little thanks on his part. Liliana would've ripped out Marinette's eyeball at the mall had it not been to his sister stepping in. 

"Thanks." 

"Your welcome... Damian?" 

"Yeah."

And just like that, she was left standing all alone. 

_RING - RING - RING_

~

Marinette's day was going okay so far. She had first period with a really laid-back science teacher who gave them a free period because of his hangover. For second period, gym, she was allowed to sit on the bleachers while the rest of the class ran the track. 

Third period had finally ended, meaning it was now time for lunch.

Boy, oh boy. 

Nervously trudging in, her eyes wandered all over. To the table where a group of kids dressed as their original characters dramatically cried while playing Dungeons and Dragons with the computer lab kids. 

To the table where the cheer squad were trying to gain attention by leaning against the table and twerking. Not with those flat asses. 

To the table where kids in soccer jerseys were play fighting (or real fighting), tackling and punching one another. In that group was Ashe and the others she saw on Saturday at the mall, like the ginger and the one with big eyes like ripe blueberries ready to pop at any second. 

Finally, she found a small round empty table with about eight seats around it. 

Hers now. 

She barely avoided the lunchroom warfare, nearly getting a whole half eaten apple to the face. Arriving at the table, she pulled out her lunch, about to start eating when five _clacks_ heard from around the table.

The knights of the round table have arrived.

"Hel~lo!" 

"Ashe?!" 

"The one and only! There's also Damian, Jon, Bart, and Nova!" she grinned, revealing gleaming pearly whites. She leant across the table, so she was about two feet away from Marinette's face. 

Marinette was now able to see her more clearly. Her eyes were both different colors - her left eye a chestnut brown - the right one a purplish - grey - blue. 

"So, what brings you to this school? I heard you're from Paris!" 

(t.b.c) 


	6. Damian's Death List

(A continuation of chapter five!) 

"I... I had some issues with some of my classmates," Marinette answered in the best possible way that _didn't_ mention how fucked up both she and her mind was. Lila Rossi may not be capable of _shit_ , but Marinette had to admit:

If you wanted to get rid of someone, Lila knew how to do that well. 

She just didn't know how to take a running jump off a fucking cliff. 

"Issues? Did you beat them up?!" Marinette was taken aback.

' _Oh no, mysterious kind stranger with these super unique eyes and the breasts of a FUCKING Greek goddess, I did NOT beat them up. Instead I succumbed to their bullying and nearly tried to KILL myself by taking a swan dive off the balcony of my house!'_

"I wish..." she joked, (not really) taking a bite of her sandwich. Ashe seemed a little... upset? Confused? The others remained silent until the ginger, whom she learned was named 'Bart,' spoke up. 

"Anyways... what did they do to you?" 

Nova smacked him from across the table. 

"Don't go lingering into other people's business! She'll tell us if she wants too!" she sat back down, returning to her lunch. Marinette awkwardly laughed, not exactly sure if she should stop or continue making weird noises with her mouth hanging open. 

"It's fine... Nova? They uh, did the average stuff. Telling me to kill myself, the verbal and physical stuff..." fists banged onto the table. Jon's, Damian's, Bart's, Ashe's and Nova's. Marinette could practically see the metaphorical flames of anger in their eyes. 

"Average?" Damian arched an eyebrow. His eyes were fixated in this threatening glare - Marinette shivered. "That's not average. They deserve to _die._ Telling someone to kill themselves makes the person who told them want _me_ to kill-" 

Ashe slapped a hand over Damian's mouth. "What he means, is that he-"

"We-"

"Uh-"

"Hey guys!" a dirty blonde in another soccer jersey approached them. Damian's eyes widened, as did everyone else's. Marinette was confused - who was this beach blonde, and why were they all so hyped up to see him?

"Colin!" (Everyone fucking forgets Damian first human friend-) 

Jon threw an arm around him, pulling him into a _bro hug_. 

"You done coughing? We missed you on Saturday!" 

"Sorry! My fever is gone, yes." 

"Oh, oh!" Ashe took Colin from Jon, pulling him to Marinette. She pulled his hand up, forcing his hand into a handshake. " **'** Lin, this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng! She just transferred here from Paris!" 

"H-hi! I'm Colin Wilkes!"

"Marinette D-dupain - Cheng!" 

You got to love the awkward babies. 

"Alright! This is bumming me out!" Ashe stretched her arms up, her hoodie - jersey riding up. 

_'Navel piercing?!'_ Marinette held back the urge to gawk at the two diamond prongs on the girl's belly button. _'Ashe has a thing for piercings...'_ she finished the rest of her club sandwich. Ashe's arms fell. She let out a sigh of relief. 

"So, Nettie? Can I call you that? I always address people with nicknames, since it's easier for me to remember! What are you interested in?" Ashe sat on the table, swinging her feet. Marinette hummed.

"I like... fashion and design. I really like to sew. And... oh! I _love_ video games. And... photography is a kind of... hobby of mine? I'm not really good at it, but I still enjoy it," she said, not realizing that she had the wrath of Nova's photography obsession to deal with. 

"You like photography?!" Nova's warm mocha colored eyes brightened. Marinette nodded, remembering seeing Nova with her camera on the school tour and at the mall. Nova smiled, switching to the empty seat next to her. 

"Yes?" 

Next thing she knew she was laughing over Nova's dumb yet high quality, close professional, pictures of her friend group doing dumb shit. Damian's face at a random senior's party, holding a red SOLO cup while criticizing everything in the room.

Then there was Bart and a tanned boy passionately making out while Damian cringed in the background. Nova explained that that was Bart's boyfriend, Jaime, who Damian rarely got along with. 

"I heaRD tHAt yOUr tEch WaS FASt," Nova mimicked in a voice so similar to Damian's that Marinette almost choked on her own spit. "He nearly knocked Jaime out with a boomerang. After that they started fighting and shit happened." 

A batarang, but she couldn't tell her. (Yet ;))

Then one with Jon mid-scream, Damian mid-punch.

A couple of the Wayne family, a couple of what Marinette could guess were Nova's family, and some of other students she didn't know. 

Nova had some killer talent, that's for sure.

~

Sounds of pens scratching and the faint relaxing background music Marinette's history teacher played lulled Marinette into some hazed study sequence. All the members of her lunch friend group/new acquaintances were in her last period, thank god. No Liliana encounters, except for third period. She hasn't done anything - a dirty look at the least. Liliana wasn't in this class at least - that let her breath normally for probably the first time today. 

Since the teacher hadn't given her any assignments, she decided to look around the classroom. 

Jon was jotting notes into his notebook, flipping through each page of his textbook with a face of full-on interest. Don't know what got him all fascinated, but if he was into it, go for it. 

Nova's textbook was open - she just wasn't doing any of the work. Instead she fiddled with a piece of paper, making something out of origami paper, sneaking a quick picture of her creation - a dragon with her phone. 

Bart was tapping a pen non - stop, semi - dancing, lip - syncing to the music playing through his earbuds. Marinette couldn't read lips, but it was pretty obvious it was some of rap or rock song based on how fast he was silently singing along. 

Eminem isn't the rap god - it's the Flashfam. 

Colin's head was on his arm, half-asleep, half listening to the teacher mumble amongst himself.

Finally, Ashe was... recording the teacher's notes? Her phone was propped up against her water bottle. Smart. Who needs to pay attention when you can just listen to the whole lesson later? She was leaned back in her chair, heeled boots propping her up against her desk, eyes closed.

 _Sleeping?!_ (She kind of knows all this, so-) 

Behind her, Damian was also doing something with his phone. She stared in his direction for what seemed like ages, taking in his appearance once more. He managed to slip a smile at his phone, causing Marinette to blush. 

_'HE HAS DIMPLES?!'_ she internally screamed. The one thing that added MORE huskiness to this GOD of a toned teenager was the FUCKING dimples. Had it not been for the timing and the location, Marinette would've been SCREECHING about him.

Yup. Marinette Dupain - Cheng could confirm it.

She had a crush on this guy she had just met.

There it was. 

~

Marinette was waiting to find Colette's car, just wanting to go home and tell her friends about Damian. Chloe was probably going to reprimand her about falling for a guy she just met, but it didn't matter to her.

Damian may be a little bit of a bitch - obvious; but he wasn't like Liliana. He was just bitchy about some things, like Lila and Liliana. Maybe he had a thing against people with names that start with 'L.' 

"Marinette!" Colette called from her car. Marinette waved, jogging over.

"Hey, how was school?" Colette tossed her heels into the back seat. 

"It was okay." 

"You hungry or anything? I'm sure that my older sister wants to make sure I feed you," Colette teased, exiting the school grounds, now on the main road. Marinette chuckled, sliding her phone out of her back pocket. 

"Starving..." she smiled, mood improving when she saw new messages from the 'Heroes Team' group chat.

(t.b.c) 


	7. Thunderstorms And Facetiming

Marinette and Colette both held Colette's large trench coat over their heads, trying to make it into the apartment lobby without being drenched by the sudden downpour. After finally making it into the elevator, Colette let out a breath.

"It's been a while since Gotham had _huff_ one of those," she panted, making sure her handbag wasn't wet. ' _Another mental note,'_ Marinette thought. _'Bring an umbrella to school. Yeah.'_ Marinette almost did a whole clumsy dance routine at the sound of the elevator announcing their arrival on the fourth floor. 

Another _another_ mental note? Pay attention. 

Colette fumbled with her keys, finally opening the door. Took you long enough. Marinette peeled off her sopping wet vest, leaving her in a moist blouse and raindrop speckled pants. Her flats were gushing with water - she'd have to wear another pair of shoes tomorrow. 

"Go ahead and get changed into something dry," Colette shamelessly walked around the house in only her briefs and bra, not really caring that Marinette was there. Hey, they're both girls. And this isn't going to become one of _those_ books. Chill. She's only flexing her wine aunt powers. Chill. 

"Okay..." Marinette grabbed her pajamas, a ladybug print nightgown and shorts to go under it. Changing into those, she walked out with her wet clothes to find Colette in her bathrobe pouring herself a glass of wine while blabbering on the phone with someone.

"No, no, the files are supposed to be- no. No. Mr. Wayne specifically said- what do you mean you messed them up?! Trisha, they were _color-coded_ ," Colette took a swig of wine. Wine aunt. "Huh? Well you must have the wrong documents, because they're- look, can we deal with this tomorrow? My wi-fi's bad and my niece is here, okay? Alright. Bye."

"Everything okay at the office?" Marinette asked, wrapping a towel around her dripping hair. Colette rubbed her temples, smiling aggressively. She was familiar with this smile - it ran in the Cheng family. When Sabine was stressed or miffed, she would always smile this over polite smile to a point where it was kind of scary. 

Something about Damian's glare had that perk. Except his glare was scary enough to make someone forfeit all their stuff to him, no hesitation at all. 

"Just my _bitchy_ coworker who doesn't know how to do her _fucking_ job. It's _damn_ simple you _shitfuck_ , you just _type into the computer,_ not go around showing everyone pictures of last night's cocktail!" Colette took another gulp of wine, ignoring how she just cussed-

Do you guys say 'cursed' or 'cussed?' I say cussed. 

-out this 'Trisha' person in front of Marinette, who didn't entirely care, but was still pretty disturbed at how her aunt deliberately lost her shit. Better not mess with her. She has wine and the foul mouth of a East Coast sailor with herpes, as well as the blood of a Cheng. 

"Cocktail?" Marinette arched an eyebrow. 

Colette almost snickered at that. "Trisha works the night shift at a bar. She's a bartender." 

"Oh... well... do you need anything?" just making sure that Colette didn't have any chores for her to do before she went to go listen to Chloe ramble on about how cute Kagami was, oblivious to the fact that she was on a group facetime. 

"Nope. You must be tired after your first day. You can go relax and stuff. Dinner will be here soon." 

Marinette returned to her room, flopping onto her bed. She grabbed her phone from her charger, then her headphones.

And thirty seconds later...

 _"-WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU THINK HE'S CUTE?!"_ Chloe screeched, causing Marinette to remove her earbuds from her ears for a second before Chloe calmed herself. Through them, she could hear Nino and Alix snickering, Luka, Juleka and Adrien all chuckling amongst themselves and Kagami trying to tell Chloe to quiet down. 

"I just think he is! I heard he's Arabic! And he has these... these gorgeous emerald colored eyes and dimples, don't get me _started_ on the dimples, and he-"

 _"If that's true, I might have to dump Luka's dimpleless ass and take a trip to Gotham to see this 'Damian' figure myself,"_ Adrien joked. In the background, Luka's voice cut in, _"the hell you mean?"_

The laughter coming from the couple meant that Luka understood Adrien's joke. 

_"Anyways, what's so great about him? He's godly handsome and part of the soccer team. That's obvious a playboy. Lemme guess - he's dating a cheerleader."_

"Uh... isn't that kind of stereotyping-"

_"He is, isn't he?"_

"Yes. But I'm not sure if he's really... a playboy. I mean, his dad might, 'cause he's a Wayne-"

_"WHAT?!"_

**_"Oh word?!"_ **

**"Holy shit."**

Marinette gulped. Probably should've mentioned that in the beginning. 

_"He's a playboy."_

"He is NOT, Chloe."

_"How do you know?"_

"I..." Quick Marinette, think: tell your overprotective besties about the bitch who was the literal clone of Lila Rossi, or just tell him he has a psychotic girlfriend who also happened to be that same clone of Lila Rossi? 

"His girlfriend is... literally an exact copy of Lila."

_"Wait... what?!"_

Damn it, Marinette. 

"I-i'll call you back, dinner's here!"

_"Wait, Marin-"_

(Call Ended)

Marinette pulled off her headphones, sinking deeper into her pillow. She slapped over her face, groaning loudly. Her phone screen lit up; she ignored it. It was obviously Chloe trying to call her back. Not now, Chloe. 

She pulled her pillow over her face, muffling a scream. 

A slip up like that, and next thing she knew Chloe was banging on Colette's door, demanding to see Marinette. That couldn't happen. As funny as it would be, she didn't want to get her old friends enrolled into more of her drama with people who are photogenic copies of one another. 

Marinette was a whole damn flower arrangement of emotions - a cross between screaming 'Tu es un bitcho' - something she learned during her first lunch at Gotham High - with a little bit of _drowning someone in pure cinnamon powder so their eyes and nostrils and every single part of their body including the fucking inside is so full of the fucking spice, they'd be able to shit and it'd be considered a cinnamony dessert-_

And happy. For surviving her first day at Gotham High.

Right in her whole little moment though, Colette peeked in: "Pizza's here!" before pouring another glass of wine. 

(t.b.c) 


	8. Either The English Teacher Hates Me, Or She Does

"Alright class. As many, or MOST," she made direct eye contact with Marinette. "Of you know, we will be doing a shared class project between the Advanced Science class, to write a series of essays (Hamilton?) about..." 

_'Damian and the others are in that class...'_ she thought to herself. A tad bit excited, a tad bit anxious. Being paired with anyone else and she'd probably faint from stress. She's fine with meeting new people and all, but having to work on something with all these different minds and opinions she wasn't familiar with was just... no. 

Having been around Ashe and Damian's friend group for about a week though, she could tell that they were both incredibly smart and incredibly stupid. They'd go from talking about the quantum theory with ease to trying to argue over how 'quinoa' was pronounced before getting into an over the table fistfight because the others opinion was 'wrong.'

High school.

Whoop, whoop!

"Mrs. Wilson (Random background oc, not important) and I will be creating the groups. There will be a total of five in one group, largest six. Together, the five of you will create a ten page essay," groans heard from around the room. The English teacher glared at all of them, continuing. "About *insert boring science topic here.* They will be due in three weeks. By then, you should have the stated essay, as well as some type of presentation with it."

Marinette fought the urge to bang her head against her desk in social anxiety. What if she got paired with a group of total bitches? Not quite sure if the school took a notice or whatever, but her mental health was literally being held together with a piece of ladybug masking tape.

The class stirred with both enthusiasm and frustration. 

Marinette caught out of the corner of her eye Liliana's face. She looked... stressed? Unlike her usual evil smirk, it was replaced with just a straight line. Marinette wanted to feel bad - but the sight of the bitchy attention whore looking all upset over a group project was the gasoline to her humor's fire. 

"Hey, hey, HEY! QUIET DOWN!" the teacher yelled, spreading silence across the classroom. "I'll now announce the groups. Okay, first group."

_Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah._

"And finally our last group... Damian Wayne," Liliana perked up at the mention of her boyfriend's name. "Achaya Kuznetsov-Wayne, Novus Seo-Yeon Bahrenburg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng..." 

Marinette felt as if she could do a backflip.

Her English teacher must love her!

"And... Liliana Ross."

Her English teacher hates her. 

~

"We can always meet up somewhere," Nova suggested, pulling up her phone calendar. Sitting around a table in the library was Damian, Liliana, Ashe, Nova and of course, Marinette. 

"Yeah! Like a cafe or something... or, or one of our houses!" Ashe added, leaning against Damian. Damian pushed her off, causing her to go flopping to the floor. From the floor, Ashe added:

"We can go to the manor!"

Marinette froze. Wayne Manor? Wayne Manor? Wayne Manor?! WAYNE FUCKING MANOR?! Where the Wayne's lived? Holy shit. 

"Father says he has-"

"Pops will say 'yes!' He always does!" Ashe put her heeled boot to Damian's lips. She's unnaturally flexible, that's for sure. Damian smacked her foot away, causing her to fall backwards again. 

"If Bruce is fine with it," Nova added. "I'll see if Umma (Korean for 'Mum, Mummy') agrees. Marinette? Is Ms. Colette alright with us coming over to work?" 

"Oh, uh," Marinette set down the gel pen she was tapping the table with, collecting herself. "She probably is. She's at work most of the time so..."

"Perfect. So, how are we-"

"W-wait? What about Liliana's house?" Marinette butted in. All in sync, Liliana, Damian, Nova and Ashe winced. Did she fuck something up? Nova cleared her throat, shaking her head. Liliana turned to the side, trying to hide her face. Yup. She shouldn't have brought that up.

"ANYWAYS! Uh, we can start assigning roles to each other!" Ashe brought the conversation back to the actual project. Everyone agreed, all way too awkwardly. Marinette peeked through Nova's hair 'curtain' to see Liliana. Her eyes were emotionless; her mouth was just a plain line. 

Something was really up with her... 

"Good idea! Damian... how about... you and... Marinette... research..." Marinette's cheek lightly blushed, like two dull but functioning pink Christmas lights. 

"ORRR!" Oh, nice to know that you're actually making an effort now. _Bitch~_ Liliana cut in. "Damian and _I_ can do the research and Marionette-"

Marinette internally scoffed. _'It's pronounced MARI-nette you piece of sewer waste covered shit-'_

"It's pronounced 'MARI-nette.' Also, Marinette's aunt lives closer to the manor. It'll be easier. Plus, Marinette's aunt works for Bruce, so it would be easier to-" 

"UGH! BUT-"

"SHHH!" a librarian passed by, shushing Liliana. She glared at the woman, sinking deeper into her seat. Nova rolled her eyes, shuffling through the papers, continuing to explain the whole thing. Liliana and Marinette shared some dirty glances at each other, making dumb faces and giving the occasional mouthed 'fuck u.'

"So, we're all going to meet up tomorrow, right?" 

"Damian and I got soccer practice," Ashe flipped an eraser over.

"Cheer practice, then I have to watch my little brother." 

_'SHE HAS A LITTLE BROTHER-'_

"Okay then... so it's just gonna be me and Marinette. We can start working on some of the project... that is your free." 

"Oh, uh, yeah. I am."

"Great!" Nova stood up, closing the folder, placing it in her tote bag. "I have a yearbook meeting. And here," Marinette was handed a fizzy Korean candy and Nova's phone number on a star shaped sticky note. 

"My phone number. I'll text you later on about where to meet up. _Ade_. (German for 'bye.')" she strolled away, signing out of the library list. Liliana and the Wayne kids all sat at the table staring at each other like they were some martian from Jupiter. No hate to Miss Martian or Martian Manhunter. Or the Superfam. Or anyone from space. 

"I'm gonna... go sneak into the tenth grade lunch to get some tater totsss... uh... here's my number as well," Ashe slid a crumpled sticky note to Marinette.

 _Mi torta's_ and _lobster baby_ were written all over it. She must've used this as a tissue for her notes. Damian snorted at the look of concern on Marinette's face. Liliana must've noticed this; thankfully she didn't address it.

"I suppose you should have my phone number as well," Damian handed her a folded index card. Right before she could take it though, Liliana snatched it from Damian. 

"Why are you giving her your phone number?!" 

Damian rolled his eyes, taking it back. "So we can talk about the project."

"HMPH! I'm getting out of here." she threw on her bag, leaning in to Marinette so Damian couldn't hear anything.

_"You THINK of doing ANYTHING with him, I'll KILL you. I'm not joking. And don't even THINK about telling anyone."_

When she was finished hissing in her ear, she strutted away, slamming the library door behind her.

(t.b.c) 


	9. Bahrenburgs Be Crazy-

"I should warn you," Nova locked her car, tossing her keys into the side pocket of her camera bag. "My family is kind of nuts. Well, it's not 'kind of.' It's, just... nuts. You'll see." 

Nova's house was a three story detached house, sort of like your average suburban house you'd see in movies. At least three other cars were parked in the driveway, two of them being large minivans. Kid sized bicycles and Razor scooters lined the walkway, framing the garden beds of herbs and tomatoes.

"This is a really nice house." Marinette decided to start a conversation; the car ride had been pretty timid, both of them being shy as frick. Potted plants and cement plates with handprints decorated around the white door.

"Thanks," Nova knocked on the door. Playful shouts from children, bangs and crashes heard from behind the door. Marinette managed a small giggle, earning a side smile from Nova. "My sister and her kids are visiting... so there's a lot of little redheads running around."

"Gingers?" Marinette smirked. Nova sighed, knocking on the door, but harder.

"Her husband is a redhead. Oi, Umma! Sirius! Open the door!" she banged on the door. Nova leant against the side window framing the wooden door, waiting for someone to let the two in. Sure enough, a tall, muscular dude with wild shoulder length hair and a frizzy beard opened the door.

"Nope." he shut the door, causing Nova to get irritated. 

"SIRIUS! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" 

The door opened again, revealing Sirius laughing his ass off on the floor while a middle aged woman in white mom jeans smacked him with a red slipper. Nova rubbed her temples, walking in. She motioned for Marinette to come in, which she did.

"Hi Umma," Nova waved as she kicked off her ballet flats, scooting them to a larger pile of shoes. Marinette neatly removed hers, keeping them near the door. The woman who was beating Sirius with a slipper put it back on, wrapping Nova in a tight hug.

"Welcome home, Siyeong!" she let go of her daughter, turning to Marinette. "You must be Marinette! It's so nice to meet you!-

(I legit forgot the name of my own OC, so imma change it, lmao)

"-Moonbyul Bahrenburg. I'm Siyeong's (I don't even know if this is the correct definition for 'Nova,' I don't speak Korean) mother! Welcome to our home!" she shook Marinette's hand. 

"M-marinette Dupain-Cheng! I'm one of Nova, ur, Novus' classmates!" she stumbled with her words, just wanting to punch herself in the face right then and there. "Thanks for having me, Miss!" 

"No problem! You girls hungry? I can prepare-" Nova cleared her throat, obviously embarrassed at her mom's hospitality. 

"We actually have the project to work on-"

" _Eat,"_ Moonbyul held a slipper to Nova's neck, eyes narrowed behind her pair of thick reading glasses. Nova nodded, Marinette copying, smiling to herself. Moonbyul's attitude reminded her so much of her own mother's it kind of brought back memories of when Alya first met-

No. No, not now. Alya was in the past. 

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. 

"Uh, r-right this way," Nova led Marinette to a large kitchen cluttered with dishes, food, artwork, photographs and star maps. Just like Nova told her, little redhead and brunette kids ran around, toys in hands, screaming and having fun.

To be a kid again would be... priceless. No worries, no stress, just running around and playing with dolls and cars. No Lila, no Alya, no Liliana, no scars on her wrists, no suicide attempts, no anxiety attacks, no crying herself to sleep, no-

"-nette! Marinette!" Nova brought Marinette back from her vast mind. "You were zoning out there! Umma wanted to know if you were allergic to anything." 

"N-nope! Nothing!" she giggled, not _quite_ sure why she was giggling. Nova shared a giggle, though she did seem a little 'eh' about it. Marinette mentally slapped herself, choosing to watch Moonbyul chop vegetables.

"Umma, we're gonna head to my room," Nova grabbed two sodas from the fridge, hiding them under her large sweater dress. Moonbyul nodded. "Right this way, Marinette."

"O-okay!" Marinette followed Nova up two sets of stairs, stopping above a ceiling attic door. Nova grabbed the metal string, pulling it down. A ladder tumbled down, built to fold up. Nova climbed up first, Marinette second. It reminded Marinette so much of her old room back in Paris. The homesickness once again struck again.

Nova's room was practically the same size as hers, just way more organized and with less pink. Lavender colored walls, gray carpet. Her bed was a single person twin bed, lined with beige and salmon colored sheets and seal stuffed animals. A desk was set up in the corner where a sideways slanted window let sunlight shine onto it. A laptop, a printer and a bunch of pens and photographs and random objects. 

"Wow... this is... a really nice room..." Marinette admitted. Nova smiled. 

"So. What do you know about *insert boring science topic here?*" 

"I know it well. There still things I can probably learn about it, but I otherwise know about it more or less." 

"Great. So, we both know that we're not going to get started on this project without the others." 

Marinette exhaled. "Oh thank gosh. I thought I was the only one." 

Nova let out a laugh. "We're both awkward aren't we?" she handed Marinette an orange soda. 

"Yeah." Marinette opened her soda, taking a sip of it. Artificial orange flavors. Mm. 

"Soo... you've been in Gotham for about a week. Any questions? About the city or any people?" 

Marinette took her lips from her soda, pursing them. "I..." no. Nova was supposedly friends with her... but still. She did say _'any people.'_ "Is it okay... if I ask some things about... Liliana?" 

Nova nearly spat out her grape soda. Marinette pursed her lips again. Was it a taboo topic? Nova wiped her mouth on her oversized sleeve, clearing her throat. She brushed a wavy strand of lilac hair behind her ear, setting down her soda.

"Sorry... is she-"

"No, no, it's fine. There's just some things... I don't think she wants anybody else to know. So..." 

"Oh! That's fine! I can-" 

"You can still ask questions about her." 

Marinette cleared her throat like Nova, also setting down her soda. Nova sat criss-crossed on the floor, fiddling with a loose string on her sweater dress. 

"How come... how come Damian is still with her? I mean, she kind of treats you and the rest of your friends like... trash." Nova seethed through her teeth, sighing. 

"She wasn't like that... look, you got to _promise_ me that you won't tell anyone about ANY of this." Marinette nodded, eyes never breaking contact with Nova's, showing that she wouldn't share anything.

"Back in freshman year, she used to be this sweet and nerdy girl who Demon- _ahem_ , sorry. DAMIAN, sort of had a crush on. Then in junior year they got together, and that's where Lili became Liliana. Her dad died of type two diabetes and her older brother used their inheritance money for drugs and died of an overdose the same month as their dad. Then Liliana's mom came to get the remainder of the inheritance money and left her with Liliana's little brother."

Marinette was shocked. _She had a... shitty life._

Nova could read Marinette's expression pretty well based on the way she nodded in understanding. "Afterwards, her rich grandma just threw some money at them and left them alone in a cheap apartment with some crackhead caretaker. Liliana used most of the money to buy all her expensive stuff, so..." 

"She pretty much turned from a softie to a plastic?"

"Basically." Nova bit her lip. Better not tell Marinette that Liliana's mom was a greedy League of Assassin's member. "Damian stuck around because... ' _because their mom's had some sort of connection-'_ because he was like her 'emotional support,' almost."

"Oh..." 

(t.b.c) 


	10. Study

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long hiatus and stuff. School started again, I got stressed, I got tired, then lazy and here we are now!

Marinette calmly read from her science book, jotting notes into one of her notebooks. In front of her, she didn't notice the empty seat being occupied. 

"Hello." 

"AH!" she clamped a hand over her mouth, removing it once she got over her shock. She looked up to find Damian sitting in front of her, textbook being flipped through. His emerald eyes looked over her textbook, continuing to flip through his pages. 

"A-are you looking for the page number? It's 397." 

"Oh. Thank you." he found the designated page, reading through it. Marinette took the chance to sneak a peek at his notes. Black notepad, fountain pen - he was fancy. And rich. His handwriting was clean and neat, all straight lines with surprisingly no smudge marks. 

Marinette on the other hand had a page full of sloppy notes. If she'd have more time, she'd probably rewrite them, if she wasn't too tired or lazy. 

"What did you and Bahrenburg start?" Damian asked, scratching a new detail onto a new note page. 

"Oh, uh, we didn't- we didn't quite start it yet. It was awkward for both us, so we kind of used the them to get to know each other," she confessed. Damian let out a 'hn,' turning a page. Marinette bit her lip, continuing to work.

"I think there's some vital information in this paragraph. It's on the next page." 

"Oh, okay." 

They continued to talk about the subject, often getting side-tracked. 

"-Todd is the second eldest, he's honestly fourth on my hate list."

"So... who's first?" Marinette giggled. 

"Drake. The third brother. He's a prude dumpster of coffee and sleep deprivation, and he's the closest feeling to death. He's annoying, nerdy, obnoxious and-" 

"And a basic middle child?" Marinette smirked. She could've sworn she saw a smile curl up at Damian's lips. "Basically." 

"Speaking of which, do you have any siblings? You seem to know a lot about siblings." Damian asked, jotting down more notes. 

"I don't. Having one would be great, but I mainly just have my friends as annoying siblings. Chloe, Kagami, Adrien, Juleka, Luka, Nino, Alix - the main group." 

"That's a lot." 

"Hey, you can't be talking. Collin? Jon? Ashe? Nova? Bart? The entirety of the soccer team?" Marinette counted. "Those are mainly Ashe's friends." she raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Some of them." he fixed.

"Hmmm," she rolled her eyes. "Sounds like you care!~" 

"I do not." Damian glared. 

"Yes, you do!~"

"I don't."

"Do."

"Do NOT." 

"You do!~" 

"Who- Ashe." Damian rubbed his temples at the arrival of his older sister. Kicking up her skateboard, she threw herself into an empty chair, looking through Damian's notes. Squinting through her glasses, she grabbed the lot, skimming over it.

"What's going on here?" she clicked her tongue. "You two flirting?"

"We're _studying_. I have a girlfriend - Marinette is _just a friend_."

Ah. That term again. _Just a friend. I have a girlfriend._

"Y-yeah. Just studying. Um, do you know when Nova is available? I have some questions about how she wants the format of the essay part." Marinette cleared her mind, setting down her stack of notes. 

"Hmm... I can talk to her during gym. She's in Photography right now, and they don't allow cell phones in there. Plus it's all dark and red in there, so they're probably dipping photos in chemicals or whatever."

"Thanks, Ashe. I appreciate it."

"No prob." she propped back on her chair, snatching a page of Damian's finished notes. "I'm gonna have to do some changes to some of this when I type this. That okay with you, Dames?" 

"Of course. Make sure you have Alfred read over it."

"I know, I know." 

"Who's Alfred?" 

"He's our butler/family friend/adoptive granddad. He takes care of our family." 

"Oh. That's really nice." _'Rich kids,'_ Marinette thought. This Alfred figure must be a lot better than ol' Nathalie. Adrien seemed to be exhaling relief after finding out that she'd been imprisoned alongside his father. Alfred must be different. 

"Hey Marinette, I've been meaning to ask by the way. What's that on your wrist?" 

Marinette froze. "W-where?" _No, god, please no-_

Ashe leaned forward, letting her chair fall back down onto the floor. Reaching a hand over, Ashe gently poked at the stray marker line on Marinette's wrist. "Oh. It's just marker. My bad. I thought it was something else. I think I need to change my glasses' prescription." 

"Ha, just marker." in reality, Marinette was ready to collapse. That was so close. Hell, if Ashe had looked a tad bit closer, she might have seen the rows of old scars. Having to explain that would probably trigger something. Whether it would be an attack or an impulse to vomit; she didn't want any of that. Didn't want to explain it, didn't want to trigger those. 

"Speaking of which, Damian. I heard they're having the soccer team plan the dance this year."

"Oh my-" Damian threw his face into his hands, groaning loudly. "I thought that the school festival crap was bad enough. Now they're having a group of sweaty, brainless jocks plan the school dance?"

"You are part of the soccer team."

"And so are you." 

"We got so many compliments about preparing the festival!"

"That's because we got the photography team and the theater kids to join us."

"Perks of having a photographer girlfriend and being part of the theater team?"

"Well they're probably going to mess something up!"

"How?! _OH NO I SPILT THE PUNCH ON THE SATIN TABLECLOTHS!"_

"Bull-"

"I- I can probably help out!" Marinette butted in. Damian and Ashe both turned their heads in sync, a different expression on both. On Damian's, confusion, Ashe's, excitement.

"That's perfect! Marinette, you know about fabrics and stuff, right?"

"Yes! I do! I have some-"

"You're hired!" 

(t.b.c)

**Quick note: I am getting out of the Daminette fandom-**

**To be honest, I don't really know how I started shipping this but-**

**The dynamics don't really work out to be honest and the fandom is toxic. Marinette is favored over Damian who had gone through worse-**

**I'm honestly tired of it. No, I AM NOT QUITTING OR DROPPING THE BOOK. I'll probably stop posting Daminette works and focus on other ships, like Kagami and Chloe and Damijon. Daminette is nice, but my GOD, the fandom pisses me off.**

**Sorry about the delays, one of the reasons being the toxic fandom, the others being writer's block and school. Hope you enjoy! New chapter should be out by October 17th, depending on how inspired I feel to write.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	11. Weekend With The Waynes

"Hey Marinette, you happens to be free dis weekend?" Ashe murmured, using a hand to hide the mashed up food in her mouth. "I should be." Marinette responded, blankly watching as Liliana crouched over some sort of important looking document.

 _'I wonder what that is...'_ "So, do you want to have a sleepover or somethin'? We can work on the project and play video games and shit. My sibs are gonna be there, but that won't be a problem, right?"

"That... that would be great! I could check with my aunt!" 

"Sweet! She's.... what's her name... Colette? Colette Cheng?"

"That's her." 

Ashe's face brightened. "Woah! Your aunt is the literal best. Strict, addicted to coffee, but the best. I can ask her myself if you want! She's my dad's... secretary- uh... I forgot what she was. But I can ask since I'm heading to Prises after school today."

"That would be great! But, uh, what's 'Prises?'"

"Oh!" Ashe set down her salad. "That's just what I call Wayne Enterprises. It's simpler," she answered, popping the 'p' in simpler.

"Oh. That was..." Marinette laughed. 

"Yeah..." Ashe returned to eating her salad. Having no one else to talk to (Jon, Bart and Colin were mingling with the soccer team, Nova was having lunch with the yearbook club in the computer lab, Damian was... who knows where, and Ashe was scrolling through her phone while coughing on a piece of lettuce from her salad.

Sighing deeply, her blue eyes looked around the room, searching for something interesting. 

Liliana's group of cheerleaders sat at a table way in the back, either gossiping or watching some of the other cheerleaders mooch up their jock boyfriends. In another corner, kids were launching shaken bottles of Coke and Mentos around, surprisingly only drenching themselves and the table full of smart kids with the soda - mint explosion.

Nothing interesting.

Blowing a strand of hair out of her face with a large huff, she laid her head in her arms, shutting her eyes. A little nap...

-

"A sleepover? That would be perfect! Of course you can go. I have my book club coming over on Saturday anyways. And then I have a cocktail party with my wine club- uh, go ahead. Um... Mr. Wayne knows about this, right?"

"Ashe said he doesn't mind as long as we, can I cuss real quick?" 

"Child, this is Gotham. This isn't your parent's house. Say 'fuck,' say 'shit,' I don't care. Just don't tell your mom."

"R-right. 'As long as we don't fuck something up or start a sibling war.'"

"Ah, the infamous Wayne sibling war. Wouldn't want to start one of those. Once happened in the Wayne Tech building and half the cubicle unit had to be rebuilt." 

"Woah."

"Woah, indeed," Colette strolled to the kitchen, opening the fridge. 

"Make sure you snag a good alcohol from there."

"Wouldn't that-"

"Tell Ashe I sent you."

"Okay...?" 

"Kidding. Need me to drop you off or whatever?" 

-

"WEL-come to Casa Wayne! Wayne Manor! House of Wayne! Wayne Mansion! Bruce Wayne's house! Urh- welcome!" Ashe listed. "Woah..." Marinette whispered. This place looked cooler in person. 

**(I'm going off of what Wayne Manor looks like in** _**Batman,** Vol.3, **#42. Search it up.)**_

Symmetrical windows lined the pale, dull complexion of the manor. One part of it looked somewhat like a castle, though, not exactly. Trees, bare, because of the autumn season. The house looked eerie, a little scary.

It would've been the perfect place to film a horror movie. 

Or, it would've, had it not been for the group of what Marinette could _assume_ , was her large sibling squad. Memories of seeing them all on the news made it easier for Marinette to, thankfully, remember their names. _MOST,_ of their names. 

One of the easier ones to recognize was Jason Todd. With that white streak in his hair and his reigning appearance, it didn't take a genius to tell the difference between him and his older raven haired sibs.

The next was Stephanie Brown, who had a shocking appearance to Chloe. Again, easy. 

They appeared to be in a big game of rugby, tackling and scraping each other against the muddy lawn. Except instead of playing with the actual rugby ball, they spent more time wrestling with one another. Was this what Colette had warned her about?

"HEY! WE'RE BACK!" Ashe hollered over the shouts and curses from her brothers and sisters.

"Ashe! Oh! This must be Marinette!" mud clung to ends of his long hair **(Long hair/mullet Dick Grayson, best Dick Grayson. Let my point be heard.)** coating the midnight strands with its 'earthly minerals.' 

"Richard Grayson. But, you can just call me 'Dick.' Or Richie."

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It is... really nice to meet," her eyes scanned the pile of Wayne kids 'tearing' at each others throats. "To meet all of you." 

Dick warmly smiled. "Nova and the others are already inside with Damian. Have fun!"

-

So, this was happening. 

The room, Ashe's, to be specific, had an awkward silence to it. Sitting on a beanbag chair was Liliana, who, actually looked... normal for once. Just normal auburn-brown hair in a loose ponytail, black t-shirt and grey and purple sweatpants. 

As soon as Marinette walked in, Liliana choked on her soda, glaring intensely at her. That led her to get up, clear her throat, and sink into Ashe's beanbag chair pile while everyone else threw around Skittles and played Mario Kart. 

"Goddammit, Jon," Bart cussed. Jon's blue turtle shell had hit Bart, allowing Jon's Toad to pass by, taking the spot of first. 

Meanwhile, Damian lingered in and out of the room, either to give some more notes about the project or to talk to Liliana, Nova, or Ashe. Surprisingly, Liliana seemed to be a lot more... chill. Calm? Less...pink?

In the dark corner of Ashe's room, Marinette could just barely make out the small tinge of light reflecting off of Liliana's glasses from her phone. Strange... not because she was wearing glasses. But at how she was acting... again with the stereotyping. 

"Hey Marinette! We're gonna watch a movie! You wanna choose?" Colin handed her the remote. 

"Oh! Thanks, Colin." her eyes went from the TV screen to Liliana. 

Something wasn't sitting right with her... oh well. 

**(Lazy chapter, just wanted to write a sleepover chapter with Marinette meeting the Batfam. New chapter should be out by October 17th at the least. Hope you enjoyed.)**


End file.
